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A day after Parliament was adjourned sine die, the government on December 22 maintained that the Opposition MPs invited action against them by disrupting the proceedings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. A record 146 Opposition MPs were suspended from both Houses during the Winter Session that concluded on Thursday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters that the government was not keen to suspend MPs but several Opposition members requested for suspension for political mileage after action was taken against some of their colleagues.
Mr. Joshi said such steps showed the character of the Congress. “We did not want to suspend MPs, we requested them. But after we suspended a few MPs, several of their colleagues came with requests to us seeking suspension. This is the level the Congress stoops to,” Mr. Joshi said.
He was addressing the customary press conference after the conclusion of the Winter Session.
Mr. Joshi said he, along with Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and other floor managers of the government, had reached out to the Opposition MPs to ensure smooth functioning of the House.
Mr. Meghwal, who was also present at the briefing, said the decision of the Opposition members to storm into the well of the House was taken much later after the breach of security in the Lok Sabha and that the Opposition was earlier ready to discuss the matter in Parliament.
“They told us that they will also indulge in indiscipline and wanted us to suspend them,” Mr. Joshi added.
He added that the session saw passage of important legislation to ensure victim-centric justice such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill.
Continuing the attack against the Opposition on the issue of Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Mr. Joshi said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi enjoyed and filmed the action of mocking a constitutional authority. He said the Congress did not approve of anyone in power unless they were not appointed by the party. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been a target of the Congress for more than two decades and now, the party had trained its guns on Mr. Dhankhar. “The Congress is not responsible when in power and most irresponsible when in Opposition,” Mr. Joshi added.
When pointed out that Home Ministers had made statements on the floor of the House when breach of Parliament security happened in the past, Mr. Joshi said the Speaker and the Chairman had made statements in both Houses on the incident and the Speaker assured the members about the security.
He added that an investigation into the security lapse was on and that BJP Lok Sabha member Prathap Simha had given his statement on the issue. The Opposition has been seeking action against Mr. Simha for providing the visitors’ pass to those accused of breaching Parliament security. Mr. Joshi said action against all culprits would be taken based on the investigation report.
